What is Causal Impact Analysis?
Estimating what would have happened without a change by modeling against controls or history. The formal version of "was it us or the update" for migrations and rollouts.
Related terms
SEO Split Test
Running a change on a page group while holding a control group back, then comparing outcomes. The only reliable way to know whether internal links, titles, or schema actually moved the needle.
Baseline Period
The pre-change measurement window an experiment or update is judged against. No baseline, no causal claim: seasonality and trends must be priced in first.
Site Migration
Any platform, domain, protocol, or architecture change affecting URLs. Safe migrations map every old URL, preserve signals with 301s, and monitor indexation and logs for weeks after.
Google Search Console (GSC)
The free official view of how Google sees a site: impressions, clicks, positions, indexation, and issues. Audits join its demand data to crawl findings before prioritizing anything.
Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
Event-based analytics measuring what visitors do after they arrive. Pair it with Search Console to connect rankings to engagement and conversions instead of optimizing positions blindly.
Impression
One appearance of a page or link in results or AI answers. Impressions without clicks diagnose snippets and intent fit; falling impressions diagnose demand or visibility loss.